Appearance: Lightly cloudy, lightly golden. Good clarity for unfiltered wheat! Low carbonation, but it is likely me rushing to open a bottle, it was just to good straight out of the fermenter.

Aroma: Rounded sweet and delicate, with good amounts of the critical bubblegum and banana esters. The background has a citrusy hop but its not overwhelming. It is prettier (?) than anything I have brewed before.

Taste: I hate to say ’rounded’ again but I do think that it is overall well balanced, with no overwhelming sweetness or bitterness. Gently sweet wheat, and possibly some late alcohol burn? The finish could be cleaned up a bit, but this is damn fine. Medium mouthfeel, thicker than those macro wheat brews; full bodied refreshment!

Overall: Suburb and simple. It will be very easy to share this will those not so familiar with beer or homebrew…if it makes it out of my house.

Ingredients
Fermentables
6.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) 67.4 %
1.00 lb Caramel Malt – 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 11.2 %
1.00 lb Mild Malt (4.0 SRM) 11.2 %
0.50 lb Barley, Flaked (Briess) (1.7 SRM) 5.6 %
0.30 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) 3.4 %
0.10 lb Roasted Barley (Briess) (300.0 SRM) 1.1 %

Hops
1.00 oz Williamette [4.80%] (90 min) Hops 17.7 IBU

Yeast
Safale S-04

The Brew
Soundtrack: The Chicago Bears dying slowly and pitifully
Brew Beer: Brewery Ommegang Hennepin


Stats
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Mash: Single Infusion for at 158F [1.5 qt/lb]
RA Target: 90
Water adjustment: 2.5 tsp Chalk, 0.5 tsp Salt
Sparge: 5.5 gals at 168F
Efficiency: 80%
Mash pH: 5.4
Boil Duration: 90min
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity:
Est. ABV: 5%
IBU: 18
Color: 17
Fermentation: ~6 at 66F, ~14 at 72F
Carbonation:
Brewed: 12/20/09
Bottled:

Very, very simple. A study on my process, an attempt at decoction mashing. Oh and a style by request of the wife.


Ingredients
Fermentables
0.50 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) 5.3 % [leftovers]
6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 63.2 %
3.00 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) 31.6 %

Hops
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50%] (60 min) 8.2 IBU
0.50 oz Tettnang [4.50%] (30 min) 6.3 IBU
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00%] (5 min) 9.5 IBU

Misc
6.00 oz Rice Hulls into the mash

Yeast
Safbrew WB-06

The Brew
Soundtrack: The Fold
Brew Beer: Oil Change Caramel Cream Ale,


Stats
Batch Size: 5 gal
Mash: Single Infusion for protein rest at 125F [1.33 qt/lb], Decoct to 150F [1.25 gals to boiling], Sacc rest at 148F for 60min
RA Target: -25
Water adjustment: 1 tsp gypsum, 2.5 tsp CaCl
Sparge: 6 gals at 168F
Efficiency: 80%
Mash pH: 5.4
Boil Duration: 60min
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.010
Est. ABV: 5.7%
IBU: 24
Color: 4
Fermentation: ~6 at 66, ~7 at 72F
Carbonation: 2.5 vol CO2
Brewed: 12/13/09
Bottled: 1/10/10

IT COMETH. AGAIN. This is a beer I really want to nail down. Homebrewing is all about learning and experimenting – rebrewing however allows you to learn from your previous mistakes. Last time, I was disappointed by the rounded bitterness and lack of real tang. This time, with help from SlovakBrewer’s grain mill and improved water chem knowledge, I pulverized this mash and hit all my targets. I have changed my recipe significantly but the vision remains the same. Ill let you know how it works out.


Ingredients
Fermentables
10.00 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) 71.7 %
2.00 lb Rye Malt (Briess) (3.7 SRM) 14.3 % [fine crush]
0.60 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) 4.3 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 80L (80.0 SRM) 3.6 %
0.35 lb Special Roast (Briess) (50.0 SRM) 2.5 %
0.50 lb Turbinado (10.0 SRM) 3.6 %

Hops
0.80 oz Amarillo Gold [8.60%] (60 min) 20.5 IBU
0.90 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50%] (30 min) 15.5 IBU [trying to 'burst']
0.75 oz Cascade [5.40%] (15 min) 6.0 IBU
0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [7.50%] (5 min) 3.3 IBU
0.75 oz Cascade [5.40%] (5 min) 2.4 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (Dry Hop 3 days)
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (Dry Hop 3 days)

Misc
4.00 oz Rice Hulls into the mash
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

Yeast
1.5 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #US-05)


The Brew
Soundtrack: Every Time I Die, Hit The Lights…Adult Swim cartoons
Brew Beer: Lagunitas Brown Shugga (!!!), others


Stats
Batch Size: 4.5 gal [hop matter absorbs! forgot that]
Mash: Single Infusion, 4.25 gal (1.33 gal/lb) [thin because I overshot temp], 152F, 60min
Water adjustment: 2.50 tsp gypsum, 0.5 tsp baking soda
Sparge: 4.5 gal, 168F
Efficiency: 80%
Mash pH: 5.4
Boil Duration: 60min
Original Gravity: 1.074
Final Gravity:
Est. ABV: 7%
IBU: 47 [Tinseth]
Color: 13 SRM
Fermentation: ~7 at 66, ~7 at 72F in secondary
Brewed: 11/21/09
Bottled:

This was what I’ve wanted to brew since I started. More importantly, this is what all of my friends wanted me to brew since I started. 3 gallons are going into straight into bottles. One gallon will age on oak chips soaked in whiskey [disintegrator blue]. One will age on vanilla bean [disintegrator gold]. Why the fuck not. ‘Fly the banner blue and gold.’


Ingredients
Fermentables
‘Enough base grain’
2.00 lb Roasted Barley (Briess) (300.0 SRM) 8.2 %
1.00 lb Caramel Malt – 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) 4.1 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) 2.1 %
0.50 lb Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) 2.1 %
0.50 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) 2.1 %
0.50 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) 2.1 %
1.00 lb Molasses (80.0 SRM) 4.1 % [into primary when fermentation subdued]

Hops
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.40%] (60 min) Hops 33.8 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [11.40%] (60 min) Hops 26.7 IBU
0.45 oz Warrior [15.50%] (60 min) Hops 16.4 IBU
2.00 oz Chinook [11.40%] (10 min) Hops 19.4 IBU
1.00 oz Chinook [11.40%] (5 min) Hops 5.3 IBU

Yeast
2 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #US-05) Yeast


The Brew
Soundtrack: The Ghost Inside
Brew Beer: Every Time I Rye, others?


Stats
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Mash: Single Infusion, ~0.33 gal/lb (6.2 gal), 156F, 80min
Water adjustment: 2.25 tsp Baking soda, 0.25 tsp Salt
Sparge: ~3.4 gal, 170F, 15 min
Mash pH: 5.4 (?)
Boil Duration: 80min
Original Gravity: 1.099 w/o molasses (Est. 1.105 w/ molasses)
Final Gravity: 1.028 (need to double check)
Est. ABV: ~10%
IBU: 101 [Tinseth]
Color: 60 SRM
Fermentation: ~7 at 68, 13 at 72F in secondary [plastic bucket primary was leaking!]
Brewed: 11/1/09
Bottled: 11/22/09 (regular disintegrator)

A generously spiced pumpkin ale that turned into a monster even BEFORE the mash. This recipe was a lose interpretation of the one from Tedbrews. I have been starting to get the hang of all grain brewing but my efficiency has still been struggling. I realized after my brewday very well could be the crush; my mill settings (I use one at my LHBS) for this grain bill were way off…only I didnt notice until well after. Lesson learned.


Ingredients
Fermentables
‘Enough base grain’
2.50 lb Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM)
2.00 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)
0.60 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)

Hops
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [3.90%] (60 min) 12.9 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [3.70%] (60 min) 12.2 IBU

Misc
0.75 tsp Powdered Clove (Boil 5.0 min)
0.75 tbsp Powdered Ginger Root (Boil 8.0 min)
0.75 tsp Powdered Nutmeg (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 tsp Powdered Coriander (Boil 5.0 min)
1.00 lb Pumpkin (Boil 10.0 min)
3.00 tsp Cinnamon (Boil 5.0 min)

Yeast
2 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #US-05) Yeast


The Brew
Soundtrack: The Rocket Summer, New Found Glory
Brew Beer: Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, Oil Change Caramel Cream Ale


Stats
Batch Size: 5 gal
Mash: Single Infusion, ~0.33 gal/lb, 154F, 60min
Water adjustment: 1 tbsp Gypsum
Sparge: ~4.5 gal, 170F, 10 min
Mash pH: 5.4
Boil Duration: 60min
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.010
Est. ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 25 [Tinseth]
Color: 16 SRM
Fermentation: ~10 days in primary at 68F, the rest at 72F
Brewed: 10/11/09
Bottled: 10/29/09

My first completely all-grain beer and my mash was as brutal as their breakdowns. Consider this batch a first draft I will definitely make this again. It needs to be bigger, rawer. I want drop B in a bottle. I want this to be like a sledgehammer to an Orange amp. I guess I’ll get there in small steps.


A note to vistors: this is homebrewed. I made this in my kitchen and is it usually consumed there. Listening to metal. Alone. The only way to get some is to come to Chicago and bribe me with more beer.


Ingredients
Fermentables
10.00 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (3.5 SRM) 73.7 %
2.00 lb Rye Malt (3.7 SRM) 14.7 %
0.50 lb Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) 3.7 %
0.30 lb Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) 2.2 %
0.07 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) 0.5 % [color]
0.70 lb Turbinado (10.0 SRM) Sugar 5.2 %


Hops
0.60 oz Warrior [15.00%] (60 min) 32.2 IBU
0.45 oz Magnum [15.40%] (90 min) 26.6 IBU
1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00%] (5 min) 10.0 IBU
0.50 oz ‘Wet’ homegrown Cascade (Dry hop)
0.50 oz Cascade (Dry hop)


Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc


Yeast
2 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #US-05) Yeast


The Brew
Soundtrack: Every Time I Die, Blackhawks NHL Preseason game
Brew Beer: Lots


Stats
Batch Size: 5 gal
Mash: Single Infusion, ~0.35 gal/lb [~4.5 gal into 6lb] , 154F, 60min
Water adjustment: 1 tbsp Gypsum, 0.5 tbsp Kosher salt
Sparge: ~4.6 gal, 170F, 15 min [not done properly]
Mash pH:
Boil Duration: 90min
Preboil Gravity: 1.044 [65% efficiency]
Original Gravity: 1.065 estimated [was not taken]
Final Gravity: 1.014
Est. ABV: 6.7%
IBU: 70 [Tinseth, too high]
Color: 11 SRM
Fermentation: ~5 days in primary at 68F, 7 days in secondary at 68F, 1 day at 50F
Brewed: 9/19/09
Bottled: 10/7/09

This beer turned out to be an experiment in more ways than one. The idea came from a collaboration between Brian and I after he suggested his mom’s caramel as an ingredient. After some thought, I thought it would be interesting to attempt to make my first cream ale. The combination of the two brings us this caramel cream ale complete with a whopping pound of Cannon’s mom’s homemade caramel.
In addition to some wild ideas, this also turned out to be my first all grain brew with my newly completed mash tun (pics will follow shortly). I used a standard medium body single infusion mash (my goal is to stay around 80% efficiency) and my cooler did a fairly good job maintaining temp. My homemade temperature controller was used to monitor the temperature – although I will be purchasing a floating thermometer next time I make it to the LHBS.
The mash went unbelieveably easy but my faults in this beer may be two fold: one a wacked-out reciepe that doesn’t bring the creamy caramel profile I was aiming for (who knows maybe it will settle in the bottle), two Cannon’s mom’s caramel had some mystery amount in butter in it. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the sheen on my boil. Eck. I’ve done my best to rack carefully and will be doing a hell-of-ah crash cooling run to see if we can recover a bit. Regardless, it was one heck of a great experience.


Ingredients
Fermentables
2.00 lb Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) 21.6 % [Had laying around...added during boil]
5.00 lb Pale Malt – 2 Row – US (2.0 SRM) 54.1 %
1.00 lb Caramel Malt (40.0 SRM) 10.8 %
1.00 lb Pale Malt – 6 Row – US (2.0 SRM) 10.8 %
0.25 lb Milk Sugar (Into secondary) 2.7 %
1.00 lb Homemade Caramel via Cannon’s mom [unfortunately buttery :/]
Hops
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50%] (60 min) 27.3 IBU
Misc
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)
1.00 oz Vanilla Extract (Secondary)
1.50 tsp Gypsum (Strike/Sparge)
Yeast
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [Yeast cake]


The Brew
Soundtrack: Dan Potthast
Brew Beer: Metropolitan Flywheel, Great Divide Hoss


Stats
Batch Size: 5 gal
Mash: Single Infusion, ~1.25 qt/lb [~8.75 qt into 6lb] , 154F, 60min
Sparge: 5.60 gal, 168F, 15min
Mash pH: I BOUGHT THE WRONG TEST STRIPS ARGGG
Boil Duration: 60min
Preboil Gravity: 1.029 [78% efficiency]
Original Gravity: 1.056 [1.057 projected]
Final Gravity: 1.012
Est. ABV: 5.7%
IBU: >27 [Tinseth]
Color: 9 SRM
Fermentation: 5 days in primary at 68F, 7 days in secondary at 68F, 1 day at 50F
Brewed: 8/31/09
Bottled: ?

Initiate man-party! My fiancee Jenny is back home for two weeks visiting the parents so I have ultimate brewing freedom. I did not waste any time and got straight to work brewing up this hoppy American pale ale. Earlier failures drove me to return with a vengeance inspired in part by the mental music of Horse the Band. I encourage you to watch the video, but be forewarned your head could explode.
My one regret from this brew is I did not do a minimash with the American Special Roast and some 2 row (needs it for conversion, but I included it anyway since it was already milled). Regardless, the brew went really well with the only complications/little annoyances coming from pitching the yeast (I’ll censor that story for now).
The one really cool (weird?) thing I did is also carefully filter out the leftover trub sludge to salvage another 0.75 gallons of wort into a 1 gallon fermenter. I then left the vessel exposed on my windowsill to be inoculated with whatever downtown Chicago had to offer (in addition to a small amount of 1056 yeast). There is a very high chance that nothing good at all will come of this experiment but I’ve wanted to try it for a while. Stay tuned.


Ingredients
6.60 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) 86.3 %
0.50 lb Caramel Malt – 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) 6.5 %
0.40 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM) 5.2 % [Should have mashed with 2-row, but eh...]
0.15 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) 2.0 %

0.60 oz Centennial [9.70%] (60 min) 21.8 IBU
0.25 oz Simcoe [12.70%] (30 min) 9.2 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (30 min) 6.2 IBU
0.40 oz Simcoe [12.70%] (5 min) 3.8 IBU
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (5 min) 1.6 IBU
0.40 oz Centennial [10.00%] (Dry Hop 3 days in secondary)
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (Dry Hop 3 days in secondary)
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

1 Pkgs American Ale #1056 (1000mL starter)


The Brew
Soundtrack: Horse the Band
Brew Beer: Three Floyds Robert the Bruce, Solanka Stout, Two Brothers Ebel’s Weiss.


Stats
Fermentation: 5 days in primary at 68F, 7 days in secondary at 68F, 1 day at 50F
Original Gravity: 1.046
Final Gravity:
Est. ABV: ~4.5%
IBU: 42 [Tinseth]
Color: 15 SRM
Brewed: 8/24/09
Bottled:

Appearance: Off white tan head with good lacing, alright! Body is dark and opaque but hints of amber come through the edges if held up to the light. Next time I’ll aim for possibly more blackness (but to do so still without excessive ‘roast burn’ will be the challenge). Strange note: this bottle had more yeast on the bottle than any of my previous, it was a thin but complete layer across the bottom! *Shakes finger at this finicky Irish ale yeast*

Aroma: Similar fruity/spice notes as smelled in my #005 Bad Bad Brown, the end is slightly roasted. Very small hop character even with the spur-of-the-moment dry hopping I did. Again nice chocolate and coffee roasted layers bring up the tail end.

Taste: The beginning is somewhat light with hints of fruity esters but it ends dry and, surprise, toasted darkness. The bittering is clean with a small hint of spice. Although the carbonation is good, the overall mouthfeel is too thin for a stout (perhaps the carapils malts will help next time).

Overall: I dig the amount of roast and chocolate, next time I will go for slightly more hoppy nose (I love those even in my stouts!). The beer has very little residual sweetness; I hope you like your coffee black! Overall the profile is very sharp and thin but with some small revisions I hope to make it a little more rounded!